1. Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to an oil skimming apparatus and method, and, in particular, the invention relates to an oil skimming apparatus and method having a high speed boat subassembly and having a primary skimming wing subassembly and having a plurality of secondary skimming units.
2. Background of the Invention
One prior art oil skimming apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,889; issued Mar. 24, 1981. Related patents include U.S. Pat. Nos.
______________________________________ 3,664,505, issued May 23, 1972 3,703,463, issued November 21, 1972 3,822,789, issued July 09, 1974 4,057,498, issued November 08, 1977 4,111,811, issued September 05, 1978 4,151,081, issued April 24, 1979 4,304,668, issued December 08, 1981 4,623,459, issued November 18, 1986 ______________________________________
The prior art oil skimming apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,889 includes a ship subassembly, a first tank subassembly having an inlet opening with a flap and having an exit ramp and having an exit opening with an overflow flap, and a second collection tank subassembly.
One problem with this prior art oil skimming apparatus is that it is not suitable for relatively small, high speed boats. Another problem is that it is difficult to minimize the volume of excess water to be processed.